Venus

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈviːnəs/

Definitions

1. The second planet from the Sun, known for its bright appearance in Earth's sky and extreme surface temperatures
2. The Roman goddess of love and beauty, or the second celestial body orbiting the Sun characterized by its brilliant visibility and scorching atmospheric conditions
3. A deity associated with desire and aesthetics in ancient mythology, or a terrestrial planet notable for its luminous appearance from Earth and hostile thermal environment

Etymology: The planet's name comes straight from the Roman goddess of love and beauty, Venus, whose Greek counterpart was Aphrodite. Ancient observers noticed that the brightest object in the evening and morning sky was not a star at all, and assigned it to the goddess, a choice that fit its dazzling, pale glow. The Romans and Greeks knew it under different names at first, with the Greeks at one time treating the evening and morning appearances as two separate bodies before realizing they were one. The same Latin name was also applied to a genus of clams, the "Venus" shellfish, a use that gave modern zoology a term for a whole group of bivalves. Scientists settled on the name because of its association with beauty and its classical pedigree, and the planet and the shellfish now share the word without any real connection beyond the Latin goddess.